Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-11-21
QUOTATIONS.
Some Writers Who Mako Use of Other
Authors Sayings.

Some Writers Who Mako Use of Other
, Authors Sayings.
London Graphic.
"To use quotations sparlngly" is con-
spicuous piece of advice given to young
authors who desire to cultivate a good
style. They are told it is chad form''-
thst is the phrase nowadays-to inter-
spe rse their sentences with multitude OF
the expressions of other men. The habit
is said to indicate 8 poverty of ideas and
want of power over composition. H.
deed, some authorities go so far as to de-
sions is quotation permissible.
"Danfel Deronda," although she is re-
conversation than in writing, "mucn quo
tstion of any sort, even in English, is
bad. It tends to check ordinary remark. )"
One couldn't carry on life comfortably
without little blindness to the fact that
everything has been said better than we
can put it ourselves. On the ground,
then, that it is wise and comfortable to be
little blind, we humbly submit that the
practice of quoting is not without its ad-
vantages, giving, as it sometimes does,
strength to an utterance and backing it
mp by some noble thought molly ex-
pressed and which ff.s perfectly the case
in point. This opinion is Endorsed
by many s, wise thinker, and, to
note one only, DR.. Wendell Holmes
says Of Emerson: "Quotstion and orig
inality furnish the key TO Emerson's work
shop. He believed In quotation, and
borrowed from everybody and every
book-not in any stealthy or shame faced
way, but proudly, royallV, as king bor-
rows from one of his attendants the coin
that bears his own image and superscrip-
ton" On the other hand, there can be
no doubt that to find supersbundance
of poetic lines and verses, texts, maxims,
epigrams, aphorisms, notices and the
like, logged neck and shoulders into
every sentence, is, to say the least, very
tiresome to reader, especially when it S
obvious that the writer has gone out of
bis way in order to give some poor quota
ton. In conversation too perpetual
tendency to quote is worse still, for, as
the author of "Adam Bede" declares
above, at tends to check ordinary re-
marks " The man whose talk is stified
with words not his own generally obtains
the privilege of having the talk all to him-
self. Simple everyday people are so ap-
palled st what they suppose TO be his ex-
tensive reading and learning that they are |
afraid to open their lips lest they display
their own ignorance before one so accom-
plished and far seeing. We once heard
OF q gentleman whose memory was so re-
tentive, and his knowledge of Shake
speare so intimate, that he would
undertake not only to answer any
question in the words of the poet,
but would carry on conversation for
, quarter of an hour on any subject by
iuetetiens from the bard. II this story
De true he must indeed have been
'sther terror to his friends, and even
Mr. Samuel Brandrsm himself m ght
remble st the thought of such rival in
memory and knowledge of the Shakes
,earean text. Rover, in O'Keefe's old
ashioned comedy, "Wild Oats" deluges
he dialogue with quotations; but then,
n his character of strolling player, it is h
o be expected that they might naturally
ONE trippipgly # the tongue, but his
eady facility is completely thrown into I,
be shade by that OF our Shakespearean
cholar."